Realism In Weapon Effects

Realism in Weapon Effects

The purpose of my thesis project was to determine whether or not gamers might be receptive to realistic weapons visual effects.  Currently, the stylized weapon effects typically portrayed by the motion picture industry are also reflected in most video games.  I used playtesting to compare two sets of custom gunfire effects - one realistic, one "Hollywood" - within small Unreal Tournament 3 mods.  After summarizing the results, I assembled a set of written guidelines for creating realistic weapon visual effects for real and fictional weapons.